Re: Re : Bute

[Knaptyme@aol.com]

I don't believe in giving bute after a ride and in that respect I agree with
you.  I do handwalking and liniment after the ride and pasture turn out.

The one thing that I do differently, is I don't give my horse as much time off
as everyone else seems to be doing.  We do competitive distance (30 miles) and
we are "newbies." 

But generally, he has 2 days off after the ride and then we are back at our
local park.  I let him determine the pace that we set, sometimes we walk the
entire way, the trail is about 6 miles.  Boy when he decides to walk the whole
park, I sure wish I had brought water with me.  Other times, he wants to trot
and canter.  We always have a couple of days off and if I'm planning hard
terrain training, I increase the time off.  We made it through the first year
with no injuries and I personally feel that he truly enjoys himself out on the
trail.  He knows every time that we go out, I'm not going to ask him for
everything he has.  Our P & R's are consistently in the 7/4 range.

Does anyone else do this kind of riding or am I going to regret this later?

Diane